Field
The present invention is directed to a headset, and more particularly to a gaming headset with a venting mechanism to improve cooling performance of the headset.
Description of the Related Art
Gaming is a popular hobby in many countries around the world. Video games have become increasingly complex and allow gamers to play against individuals in the same location (e.g., same room, tournaments) or in remote locations (e.g., different cities or countries) via the internet. In addition to the visual aspects of the video games, sound also plays an important part in providing the gaming experience. Usually, a gamer will wear a headset that provides direct sound to the user's ears, as well as includes a microphone to allow the gamers to communicate with each other.
Gaming enthusiasts and professional gamers can dedicate significant periods of time to playing such interactive games. It's common that gamers can spend up to 20 hours a week (e.g., 3 hours every day) playing video games. Additionally, gamers can normally spend consecutive hours (e.g., 2 hours to 4 hours) per sitting playing a game. In some cases, professional gamers can spend hours playing in contests, which requires them to wear the gaming headset for significant periods of time.
One problem with current gaming equipment (e.g., headsets), is that gamers can suffer discomfort from wearing the headsets for prolonged or extended periods of time (e.g., 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours) while playing or competing. For example, prolonged wearing of the gaming headset can lead to increased perspiration (caused by humidity) and increased temperature around the user's ears (e.g., due to an increase in temperature of the ear pad or temperature of the air in the ear cup). Additionally, the headband of the headsets features a certain clamping force which helps fix the ear cups around user's ears as well as providing a passive acoustic seal that helps the user block out external noise. This pressure and seal also adds to user's perception of increased temperature and humidity levels.